(Series 17, ep.15) Since his transfer from Casualty, Fletch has been floating decoratively around AAU being funny, relatable, supportive – but without having anything very much to do apart from a bit of banter. This was fixed in dramatic style this week, as he was given what we might call an “emotional rollercoaster” of an episode to get his very nice teeth into.

Bleary from working extra shifts, he wasn’t best pleased to see his ex-wife Natalie turn up on AAU, bladdered. Despite being bladdered she wasn’t there as a patient, but as a patient’s friend. She didn’t realise the danger she was in – we all know about the Curse of the Patient’s Relative/Friend, and the even more powerful Curse of the Staff Member’s Relative/Friend (see below). Both of those groups of people are highly likely to end up in a very bad way indeed, and being both a patient’s friend and a staff member’s (ex) relative, Natalie was doubly cursed. It was no surprise that what started as a hangover ended up in an operating theatre with Selfie poking about in her brain.

Not a surprise for us – but definitely a shock for Fletch, and Alex Walkinshaw stepped his acting up a gear as Fletch went from “that nice guy who’s fitted in brilliantly since he arrived” to being newly bereaved, blaming himself and having the care of four children to worry about. The scene with him struggling to say the right things to his children was beautifully done – Macey Chipping, as Fletch’s oldest daughter Evie, really worked well with Alex Walkinshaw to make it touchingly real.

Children, eh? A constant worry. Just ask Sacha, whose daughter Rachel was still on Keller thanks to an infected tattoo. When she started being sick for no apparent reason, Sacha ordered all her tests to be done again. All of the tests. And Digby was not looking forward to Sacha finding out the result of one of the tests. It turns out that darling Rachel is pregnant, and Sacha didn’t take the news too well.

Jonny Mac didn’t take the news that Jac and Selfie are an item too well, and I think the entire Holby-watching world is with him on that one. So Jonny was in no mood to cooperate with Selfie’s latest big plan, the “elective throughput initiative,” which basically means fitting in as many operations as humanly possible, pausing only to run a damp cloth around the theatres in the wee small hours. It occurs to me that Jac, Mo and Elliot aren’t going to be able to cover that kind of schedule on their own, so I’m hoping they’ll need more staff. My vote would be for Oliver Valentine and (I do feel the need to mention his name at least once a month) Joseph Byrne, just to keep things ticking over. But I digress.

Jonny’s patient this week was a rather wonderful monk-type person who called himself Sau Dharma, possibly because his real name was Gordon. He was in heart failure, but what with being a monk and that, he didn’t want any more treatment. Sau Dharma had a proper monk beard and a properly spiritual tendency to wander round the multi-faith room nude. Not even Linden Cullen managed that level of holiness. He also had time for a little bit of brains-speak in Jonny Mac’s direction when he said he’d worked very hard to get to a state where he didn’t care – because Jonny Mac so does care about Jac and Selfie, so much so that he fronted his CEO out on his mad initiative and even called him “Guy.” And not in a friendly way, either.

5 responses to “Holby City: The first day of the rest of Fletch’s life”

Raf is really coming into his own lately too (now he’s not sobbing over Barf or partaking of testosterone poisoning induced pissing contests) and I am warming to him.

Jac & Selfie; if I wouldn’t have to pay to replace it I would have put my foot through the screen. Instead I repeated “HH is back in the Spring” over and over in a sort of mantra… in between cheering on JonnyMac!

Rachel and her teacher have been doing the mattress mambo and her friend is covering… can we put Selfie in the way when Sacha finds out and tries to beat him to death???

Alex Walkinshaw was brilliant tonight; glad they have finally given him something to do beside hand out meals and bed pans.

Tim Dantay was getting some work from the BBC this evening; the DC in Eastenders and then a monk in Holby… busy lad!!!

Glad that others thought it was the Physics teacher who was the Daddy of Rachels baby though it was a bit obvious I suppose.. In view of the pregnancy do you think we will soon see Mr T (Mr T!) back?

No wonder Jonny was cross – to see your beloved with the dreadful Self was one thing but to have the same Self push rudely in front of you for two skinny lattes is quite another. I recommend a quick foot out next time he tries that Jonny .. much more satisfying than a rant.

I also agree that Raff is luvvly now he has discovered his role as mentor of the sad and bereaved ..

If you cannot wait for the return of HH to Holby you can see Guy Henry as a sinister wizard “Welkin” in the 7th January episode of the totally daft “Father Brown” . He looms – a lot. Tom Chambers is also in it – in more or less every episode in 1950s hat and suit – whats not to like?